--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the experimental sciences, the epochs…" description: "\"In the experimental sciences, the epochs of the most brilliant progress are almost always separated by long intervals of almost absolute repose.\" — Fra..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/francois-arago-39956_absolutes_in-the-experimental-sciences-the-epochs_2152908.jpg" --- # In the experimental sciences, the epochs of the most… ![“In the experimental sciences, the epochs of the most brilliant progress are almost always separated by long intervals of almost absolute repose.” quote by Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/francois-arago-39956_absolutes_in-the-experimental-sciences-the-epochs_2152908.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/francois-arago-39956_absolutes_in-the-experimental-sciences-the-epochs_2152908.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/francois-arago-39956_absolutes_in-the-experimental-sciences-the-epochs_2152908.jpg) > “In the experimental sciences, the epochs of the most brilliant progress are almost always separated by long intervals of almost absolute repose.” [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great breakthroughs are rare and usually follow long periods of inactivity. **In simple terms:** Big advances come after quiet times. Key Takeaway Patience during lulls leads to breakthroughs. Themes science progress patience Mood reflective optimistic Type observational inspirational When to use this quote - research labs - funding cycles - career planning Key Concepts innovation historical cycles Questions to Reflect On - How can we stay motivated in slow periods? - What small steps can sustain momentum? A Different Perspective Even during quiet periods, incremental work is essential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliant/) [Experimental science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experimental-science/) [Intervals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intervals/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/i-became-insane-with-long-intervals-of-horrible-sanity/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [I became insane from long intervals of horrible sanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allen-poe/i-became-insane-from-long-intervals-of-horrible-sanity/) [Edgar Allen Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allen-poe/) > [The startings and arrivals of the cars are now the epochs in the village day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-startings-and-arrivals-of-the-cars-are-now-the-epochs-in-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This is the way history happens: it is measured out in days rather than epochs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-nicholl/this-is-the-way-history-happens-it-is-measured-out-in-days-rather/) [Charles Nicholl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-nicholl/) > [Think'st thou existence doth depend on time? It doth; but actions are our epochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/think-st-thou-existence-doth-depend-on-time-it-doth-but-actions-are/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [It takes time for change to take place. But then when huge changes are taking place, they are extraordinary. And it requires a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/it-takes-time-for-change-to-take-place-but-then-when-huge-changes-are/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [No age is compelled to take its beauty from preceding epochs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-polk/no-age-is-compelled-to-take-its-beauty-from-preceding-epochs/) [Willis Polk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-polk/) > [We all remember epochs in our experience when some dear expectation dies, or some new motive is born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/we-all-remember-epochs-in-our-experience-when-some-dear-expectation/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“A voice from other epochs belongs in a graveyard of other epochs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/a-voice-from-other-epochs-belongs-in-a-graveyard-of-other-epochs/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [Moral epochs have their course as well as the seasons. We can no more hold them fast than we can hold sun, moon, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/moral-epochs-have-their-course-as-well-as-the-seasons-we-can-no-more/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Architecture wrote the history of the epochs and gave them their names.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-mies-van-der-rohe/architecture-wrote-the-history-of-the-epochs-and-gave-them-their-names/) [Ludwig Mies van der Rohe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-mies-van-der-rohe/) > [There are two essential epochs in any enterprise - to begin, and to get done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liberty-hyde-bailey/there-are-two-essential-epochs-in-any-enterprise-to-begin-and-to-get/) [Liberty Hyde Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liberty-hyde-bailey/) > [“That is all. Two epochs met. A silly little girl and an old poet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-kostenko/that-is-all-two-epochs-met-a-silly-little-girl-and-an-old-poet/) Lina Kostenko > [Our world, like a charnel-house, is strewn with the detritus of dead epochs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-corbusier/our-world-like-a-charnel-house-is-strewn-with-the-detritus-of-dead/) [Le Corbusier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-corbusier/) > [“Anachronism is not the inconsequential juxtaposition of epochs, but rather their inter-penetration, like the telescoping legs of a tripod, a series of tapering structures.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-lenk/anachronism-is-not-the-inconsequential-juxtaposition-of-epochs-but/) Elisabeth Lenk ## More by Francois Arago > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Euler calculated without effort, just as men breathe, as eagles sustain themselves in the air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/euler-calculated-without-effort-just-as-men-breathe-as-eagles-sustain/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [The ancients had a taste, let us say rather a passion, for the marvellous, which caused ... grouping together the lofty deeds of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/the-ancients-had-a-taste-let-us-say-rather-a-passion-for-the/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Where should be be if we set ourselves to deny everything we do not know how to explain?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/where-should-be-be-if-we-set-ourselves-to-deny-everything-we-do-not/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [The calculus of probabilities, when confined within just limits, ought to interest, in an equal degree, the mathematician, the experimentalist, and the statesman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/the-calculus-of-probabilities-when-confined-within-just-limits-ought/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Let us award a just, a brilliant homage to those rare men whom nature has endowed with the precious privilege of arranging a thousand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/let-us-award-a-just-a-brilliant-homage-to-those-rare-men-whom-nature/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [To get to know, to discover, to publish-this is the destiny of a scientist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/to-get-to-know-to-discover-to-publish-this-is-the-destiny-of-a/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [I was often humiliated to see men disputing for a piece of bread, just as animals might have done. My feelings on this subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/i-was-often-humiliated-to-see-men-disputing-for-a-piece-of-bread-just/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Such is the privilege of genius; it perceives, it seizes relations where vulgar eyes see only isolated facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/such-is-the-privilege-of-genius-it-perceives-it-seizes-relations/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [On certain occasions, the eyes of the mind can supply the want of the most powerful telescopes, and lead to astronomical discoveries of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/on-certain-occasions-the-eyes-of-the-mind-can-supply-the-want-of-the/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) [Explore all 11 Francois Arago quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) ## More Absolutes quotes > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. 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